Its Alive....

[pauljones]

Another Plus 2 is back on the road.I pick her up tomorrow.Thankfully Mr Wilkins lives down the road from me and the A27 is a lovely drive back to Pompey.She has had a bit of a running gear refurb,new brakes ect,Sue Miller solid shafts,3.54 diff fitted and a New fuel tank ready for the EFI.I think ill just have a bit of fun for a while...

Happy Lotus Driving

Paul

[ardee_selby]

Another Plus 2 is back on the road.....Paul

Great stuff, Paul. Too many have gone for all the (un)reasons we know about.

Cheers - rd

[cal44]

Pictures please.

[pauljones]

Hi all,

Well I spoke too soon.Poor lotus only made it back 60 miles on the road before feeling poorly.Let me explain,as I was driving with my dad,the rear wheel almost fell off.Now this has happened before and was part of the reason for going to a specialist to get fixed.However the spinner was tightened as were the rest when I rememberd a thread on here not so long back about the centres being of different thicknesses.I seem to have thinner ones on 3 of the wheels and a thicker one on my new wheel,so to solve this ill get another 3 and it should do the trick.The spinner was tightened and I went on my way untill the engine started loseing power and revs.At one point it was only spinning up to 1500 to 2000 revs on full throtle with no load,then with load ie driving it would stay around 1500 to 1750 rpm,sometimes it would go up to 3000.after I got her home and a well needed brew I played again.I took of the top of the webbers and cleened out the small filters,not much in them but i did notice what looks like rust in the base of the carbs,maybe caused from some kind of corrosion perhaps.Anyway,after a shoot round the block,about 2 miles she was fine and picked up very well,then the same symtoms occoured.After a couple of hours of getting no where a kind man towed me back to my dads where she is staying till I can get her fixed properly.This is where the questions come in,
NO 1,Does this sound like a build up of debris in the fuel line/carb body/jets,
or
NO 2,Could this be an ignition problem possibly a coil overheating.
or
NO 3,Anything else

Help me please....!!!!


PAUL

[alexblack13]

Don't panic Paul. Start and check it out methodically. Make sure its getting its fuel ok as yes it could be fuel starv'... But it could also be sparks.

Whats been done?

You will no doubt get all the try this and that from the troops, but without hearing and feeling what's happening, as I said it could be anything. Sparks problems normally can be 'felt' as the misfire is very sudden and direct. Fuel starvation creeps up on you a bit. (remember when you ran out of petrol?) having just had a new tank fitted I would think there is a probable issue fuel wise. But its a very simple system. If you can produce the symptoms at home (in the Garage?) switch it off right away and have a look in the carb's (what are they by the way?) If the level is very low?.......

Keep us posted.

We are all listening!


AB....

[alaric]

Hi. Sounds pretty poor that you've had the running gear refurbished by a pro and one of the wheels nearly fell off when you drove it home. Doesn't that make you a tad mad?

On the misfire and lack of power, the symptoms sound like a damaged ignition coil where there's an internal short that cuts in as the coil warms up. If you find it's consistently fine when you've left it for a few minutes, then it could be it.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

Sean.

[pauljones]

Thanks Guys,
I think I will start at the ignition side first,So, the plugs have been replaced with new NGK's, I have Bosche Super 4's as spare's. I will "ASSUME" (I know) that the leads are ok as they were new not so long ago. So as mentioned the coil is the next component in line, Im sure dad has a coil, Lucas sport type, form an xjs. I will fit that at the weekend and see how it goes. The points and condensor were replaced and set up too. So there isnt much to change on the spark side.

As a point, has anyone tried the Aldon ignitor 2 with the large 8.5mm leads?

As for the carbs, I think ill take them off, then blow the lines out and check the lift pump.Is there a filter on the pump? I dont see an inline one from the pump to the carbs so it maybe worth fitting one.!

I really wanted to use the car as much as possible right now then fit the EFI over the winter, Looks like i need a rethink.

Ill let you all know how it goes.

Paul,Upset teddy bear.

[cdraper]

Fit an in line fuel filter - very cheap! the pick up is at the bottom of the tank and so all the dirt goes directly into the carbs. also - a bit more work - recondition the fuel pump if the car has been standing for some time.

[pauljones]

I have just had a new tank fitted so that should be clean, I was meaning fitting an inline filter AFTER the fuel pump on the engine before it goes into the braided pipe that feeds the carbs,althougth fitting one just after tank outlet wouldnt harm things im sure. I didnt think ill need to recon the pump,mine has stood for a couple of years so If the simple fixes dont work then that may be an option.
To be honest,I dont want to throw money at it because I have EFI to fit,I just want her running till winter.

Many thanks for the advice so far Guys,

Paul

[miked]

Hi Paul,

Just saw your thread about the wheel collars. It was me who you read about. Just out of interest, did you mangage to obtain thicker collars. If so, where from? I did not but sorted it out by removing about an 1/8" of each hub (lathe job). Bit of a job but they are not thread bound in the spinners now and nip up nicely.

Good luck.

Mike

[pauljones]

Mike, just to confirm,I had a wheel fall off that looks like it was caused by the spinner not nipping up as it should,this caused damage to the wheel which has now been replaced,with a new and looks like a thicker spacer. These were from Miles Wilkins however where he gets them from I do not know.

If you like I can measure the old and new at the weekend and let you know if they are different and try to put up pics. They do look like they are thicker by at least a fare bit,but this may be an optical old age illusion on my part. If they are thicker I will get another 3 just to be safe.

Paul

[miked]

Hi Paul,
Yes your confirmation is my understanding. I would be interested in the collar dims, if it is not too much trouble. Also what type are your wheels? Mine had been about for a few years (PO purchase) and I only found out by mixing up spinners on one side. Front wheel was loose with the spinner knocked up. The thread depth was cut deeper in one spinner than the other. Scary! That?s when I put some blu tack in to see how it compressed in the spinner. All sorted now.
Mike

[pauljones]

Mike.

I shall get the dimensions at the weekend and try to put pics on too, My wheels are s130 type I believe,

Hopefully get her fixed at the week end too.

Paul

[gjz30075]

Paul, does the engine rev freely without a load? If you have a glass bowl (oem) pump, there is a fine mesh screen that acts as a filter in the bowl.

Greg Z

[twincamman]

i THINK YOU SHOULD CHECK THE FUEL PUMP WHEN THE MOTOR IS HOT - mechanical pump diaphragms will fail to make enough pressure when hot before they fail -- BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO IGNITE THE CAR THOUGH -welcome to Lotus ownership -ED